It’s humbling to realize that while I was sitting on the living room floor watching my kids tear into the colorful assortment of presents under the Christmas tree, other lives were unfolding simultaneously in ways much different than mine.
Jayne Holtgrewe of Moorhead spent her day nursing her husband back to health after he experienced a terrible fall.
But instead of grieving ... Read More
My friend, Tania, has been going through a whirlwind year of transition. One year ago, she sold her dream house, the one she had designed, built and lovingly decorated eight years prior.
She and her husband felt a call on their lives to downsize. Even with two kids still in the house, they knew it was time to let go ... Read More
Sometimes I wish I could spend more time, money and energy on myself and less on others.
Selfish? Yep.
True? Absolutely.
I bet I’m not alone. I bet there are times when you want to say, “Sorry, God, find someone else today. I’m busy.”
Only we’re not busy. The truth is, sometimes we just don’t feel like doing the right thing.
We talk a lot ... Read More
My daughter wants me to run a half-marathon with her. Not just any race, she wants to run the Walt Disney World half marathon. I suppose since she’s 13, she will want me to pay for it too.
It all sounds a little goofy to me. (I’m sorry. I just couldn’t resist.)
I told her that as a 42-year-old non-runner, there ... Read More
If I were left to my own devices, there is no way you would be reading this kindness column right now.
I know nothing about printing a newspaper or scheduling delivery routes. I know even less about how the internet works and how to get the newspaper on a home computer.
The only way I’m able to get out this message of ... Read More
This week’s Memory Verse is super easy to memorize and super difficult to live. Here it is:
“Always be joyful.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16 (NLT)
Three simple words. Close your eyes and say it to yourself. See? You already have it memorized.
But how do we live it? And what does it really even mean?
When a child dies, are we supposed to be joyful? ... Read More
When Mr. Rogers was a boy and terrible things would happen around the world, his mom would tell him to look for the helpers. Instead of focusing on the destruction, she encouraged him to look for the good — for those people who were moving forward in kindness.
Fred Rogers took that message with him into adulthood where he shared it ... Read More
2018. That’s the date (or at least year) set in my mind for the release of my new breast cancer book. This is the book that shows what the process of reconstruction looks like on a real woman’s body — my body.
But I am only one. One voice, one body, one choice of the many reconstruction options. That’s why I ... Read More
There are moments that the words don’t reach…
My daughter and I sat in the balcony overlooking the stage as Angelica sang these words.
There is suffering too terrible to name…
All of a sudden, I wasn’t watching a show about Alexander Hamilton. I was caught in my own thoughts.
The moments when you’re in so deep…
Have I ever been there? Have I ever ... Read More
Last week I posed a question that had come across my desk from a Fargo mail carrier. He asked, “Where does citizenship end and kindness begin?”
His job often puts him in positions where he feels compelled to help. A lost cell phone, a wandering child or an emergency that requires a call to 911.
We are taught to be nice and ... Read More
